


Ebon Sky

by SacredPanda



Series: The Hunt [12]
Category: Exalted, Star Wars Legends: Republic Commando Series - Karen Traviss
Genre: Abyssal Exalted, Moonshadow Caste, Solar Bond, Solar Mate
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-13
Updated: 2018-04-13
Packaged: 2019-04-22 03:48:32
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,043
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14300121
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SacredPanda/pseuds/SacredPanda
Summary: If there is one blessing to being ripped from Creation, it's that Roxil never again needs to see his Solar Mate. He gave thanks the day he heard Ebon Tsunami died but it didn't take long to discover her predecessor was much worse.





	Ebon Sky

**Author's Note:**

> It was decided before Corsenna's Exalted campaign started that Roxil had a 5 dot (Max) Solar bond. She likes to torment her characters so she didn't change her mind on that when it was decided that her Solar Mate was going to be an Abyssal (corrupted Solar Exaltations). 
> 
> The Solar Bond is attached to the Lunar Exaltation (not the person that currently holds it) and the bonded Solar Exaltation (again not the person that currently holds it) meaning even when one of them dies the next person that gets the Exaltation is still affected by the same bond. Even though Ebon Tsunami died her Exaltation was still corrupted so when it was used to create a new Abyssal that was still bad news for Roxil.

“Good, you’re here.” Roxil let himself into the safehouse. A few of the commandos were out on … whatever a reece was. There was one in specific Roxil was looking for. “I need to apologize to you. Ordo says I have no impulse control. He’s not wrong. I shouldn’t have forced you to come to the tavern with me. I’ve been having these dreams about home and my family. I know they were just trying to help but there was a whisper in my mind recounting my fears. Visions of fire and death, and so many people I’ve lost. I needed to get away and I didn’t want to be alone… but it had nothing to do with you and that wasn’t fair of me. I’m sorry, Fi. I just wanted a friend. I’ve spent hundreds of years with people that love me, I’m not used to being so … _alone._ ”  
“Alone? Jaing, Prudii, Mereel and Jatne all have so much respect for you. Kom’rk and A’den talk about how strong you are. Corr seems to like you quite a bit. Not even Kal’buir dislikes you.”  
“I know, I know. I won’t be spending as much time with the Nulls, I’m sure. I love them, all of them, but it isn’t the same. At home I brought the voices of my loved ones everywhere, every moment. I knew them as well as my own soul. In their prayers I heard their aspirations, their fears, their secrets, I knew everything about them and they knew everything about me. No matter how the temple villages grew the lot of us were one being. For hundreds of years there was never a second of silence in my mind for all the prayers I heard, I can’t hear it anymore. I can’t hear it and it’s so much worse than having my heart torn from my chest.”  
“You say that like you know.” The commando laughed, but he noticed Roxil’s fingers against a strange scar on his chest. He hadn’t noticed when they first met, there had been too much to take in. Now he could clearly see the imprint of a hand over Roxil’s heart. “ _Shab_ …”  
“An abyssal working with Ebon Tsunami,”  
“What’s that?”  
“It’s a who, my Solar mate. I’d rather not talk about her, if there’s a blessing to never going home it’s that I’ll never see her again. I don’t envy you, but I envy that you’ll never be forced to love a person that only brings you torment. To love someone that you truly hate above all others, to love someone even after you’ve witnessed them murder your loved ones. It isn’t fair; knowing I must suffer because the sun insists on his cosmic dick measuring contest. I’m sorry, I did say I didn’t want to talk about it and here I am going on anyway. I know I’m likely to be your least favorite person at the moment… but could I ask you for a huge favor?”  
“Fine, what do you need?”  
“I’ve been asked to meet someone at a nearby tavern. I just need you to look after my son, I shouldn’t be gone more than an hour. He’s been fed already. I can put him down for a nap and he’ll likely sleep straight through until I’m back. You won’t need to do a thing, I just don’t want to leave him alone. Normally Kiin would watch him but she’s gotten quite old, she’s served as my familiar for nineteen years and she wants a break. I owe her that.”  
“I can try… but I don’t know the first thing about kids. If you won’t be away for too long and he’s going to be sleeping, I’m not on watch for another two hours and Kal’buir should be back soon anyway. You have a commlink, you’ll keep it on?”  
“Of course. I promise to hurry back. I owe you a great debt.” He showed Fi where he left the baby in Kal’s room. “Kayo, _kon wa oto yuji,_ this is papa’s friend. Be good for him, my _verd’ika_.  
Roxil had promised not to be long, but he had been away for several hours. It was getting to be late in the night and he still hadn’t returned. Fi, Kal, and Ordo had all tried calling him a number of times with no response. Ordo was furious, Kal was also upset but he seemed more worried than angry. He knew Roxil cared for his children more than anything else, and this was the only child he had now. He would never abandon Kayo, and that would certainly never earn him forgiveness from Jaing. He was sure something had gone wrong.  
“Ord’ika, can you track his comm? I’m thinking we should find him ourselves.”  
“Fine. But I’ll go. We’re too close to finishing this mission, you shouldn’t let yourself be distracted.”  
“Alright son, but give him a good smack for me if he really did get drunk and lose the time. Take Sev and Niner with you, just to be safe.”

 

“He should be here,” Ordo huffed. They tracked Roxil’s comm to a dingy empty warehouse. It looked like it hadn’t been used in years. Even in the lower levels that was pretty unusual. Sev walked around the edge of the area, when he came back he was holding the dirty leather bag he had seen Roxil carry before. Ordo searched the bag and found the commlink in an inner pocket. “He’s been here at least.”  
“Got something on thermals,” Niner chimed in. “Can’t tell if it’s a person, down a floor.” Ordo cycled through filters in his HUD until he saw what Niner did.  
“Might as well give it a look.” Ordo made his way cautiously toward the door at the back of the room, he had already sliced and memorized schematics of the warehouse. Something wasn’t sitting right with him. Even if Roxil had managed to get enough alcohol to affect him at all, why would he end up here? He held up a first signaling the commandos to stop before heading down the stairs. He nudged the door open with the toe of his boot and switched his visor to night vision. “Niner, watch the top. Sev, get on my six.” He felt a cold feeling in his gut and a sharp rush of adrenaline. The image was grainy but he could make out the shapes of chains crisscrossing through an entire corner of the room. At the center of them was a kneeling man, his head was hanging but Ordo could just make out the feline ears. He took a few weary steps forward. He knew Roxil owned a few chains made of his precious Moonsilver, but not this many. He had silver shackles around his wrists and ankles, and enough chains to keep him nearly immobile. He slowly lifted his head with a pained groan.  
“J’ika?” He sounded awful. Ordo was close enough now, he shut off the night vision filter. Roxil’s eyes were unfocused, his naked body was covered head-to-toe in deep cuts and dark bruises. From this angle he could see one of the Lunar’s arms, still hanging from the shackle, a bloody stump where it should connect to his shoulder. “Go. Please, you can’t stay.”  
“It’s Ordo,” He fought the urge to be offended. Roxil still recognized a Null from any other clone, but he was in no shape to see the finer details. He looked nearly dead. “ _Din’kartay_. What’s happened?”  
“You…” He coughed and gasped, fresh blood coated his lips. “Please get away. Eb…” He broke into a fit of terrible coughs. He looked severely dehydrated, it was terribly hot in here, even Ordo’s suit was having difficulty compensating.  
“Ordo, movement up here.” Niner’s voice came over his comm. “Real nasty looking guy.”  
“Can you get down here?”  
“Negative. Get cover. He’s moving fast, already at the stairs.”  
“Understood.” He gave the signal for Sev to hide. He rolled a remote across the room and ducked behind some crates just as the door swung open. Niner was right, this guy didn’t look good. He wore black leather armor, his skin was ghostly white, his eyes icy blue, and his hair the color of rubies was long and pulled back into a sleek ponytail. He was tall, nearly two and one tenth meters. He also looked slim like Roxil, but also like Roxil he obviously had very defined musculature.  
“Couldn’t resist hanging around to see me again, could you?” He had a smooth voice, like silk but with a dark edge. His laughter was almost musical. “This is such a clumsy language, why do you insist on using it?”  
“I will dance on your grave. Your soul will burn eternally.”  
“Big words for a broken cat.” The man laughed. He circled around Roxil trailing a black blade across his skin just light enough not to cut, crouching behind him to lick a trickle of blood from between his shoulders. “You ready to die? Not yet, there’s so much fun we can have together. I don’t need to make you love me, you already do. But remember, I only love your suffering.” The man traced the blade down Roxil’s spine creating a thick stream of blood that he kissed and licked with a dark smile. Ordo had seen Roxil take a shot from a DC-15 sidearm with barely a mark to show for it, the strength it must take to cut through his armored skin was cause enough for alarm. He took a key from his pocket and unhinged the shackle around the wrist of Roxil’s severed arm, tossing the limb away like a piece of garbage.  
“How is he still alive?” Niner whispered even though nothing could be heard outside their helmets.  
“From what my brother says, it’s nearly impossible to kill him. There’s a skill he learned that lets him refuse death from wounds.”  
“ _Kandosii’la._ Most people would have given up by now.” Sev whispered. Ordo was starting to see what he really already knew, Roxil wasn’t like most people.  
“ _Anat sei yakuso. Anat ishinai inkuru._ ” Roxil strained against his chains, renewed fire in his eyes. Ordo understood that; _I made a promise. I will not die._ He had been Jatne’s first and closest friend while he was trapped in Creation. Jatne told stories about when Roxil would disappear into the Wyld for weeks at a time, he always promised he would come back and he always did. Ordo routed the feed from his remote to Kal, he didn’t want any of his brother’s to panic but Kal needed to know what was happening. The commlink in his helmet chirped seconds later.  
“ _Ner vod_ , is there any way you can get out of there?” It was Jatne, he could hear Kal in the background.  
“ _Nayc_ , no clear path to the door. Niner can though, I’m sending him out.”  
“But Ordo-” Niner didn’t like the idea of leaving anyone behind.  
“No arguments. Consider it an order from a superior officer, because it is.”  
“Listen very carefully, that guy is called Ebon Sky. He’s an Exalt like Roxil, but of a type they call Abyssal. He’s the reincarnation of Roxil’s Solar mate. We have to help him _ner vod_ , Roxil is bonded to him by the soul in a way he can’t resist, but the bond only goes one way. That’s why Solars were never allowed into Shishimissi, Maaki and Tawasu didn’t want to encounter the reincarnations of their own Solar mates. Ord’ika, I don’t know how he’s here, but…”  
“Bad timing, but you’re right, we do need to help him. Call whatever _vode_ you can reach. We’ll have to keep hiding out here until an opportunity presents to get out. I’ll keep comms open until then. We’ll regroup and make a plan.” The plan was already forming in Ordo’s mind when the Abyssal dropped his ring of keys on a table. He reclined in a seat across the room, chuckling while he threw silver darts at Roxil. Ordo had seen Roxil cry, but not like this. He looked defeated, beaten and broken in a way Ordo found completely unfamiliar. It made sense, if this was someone Roxil was wired to be incapable of fighting against.


End file.
